Eduardo Alberto Peniche Carvajal was born in Progreso, Yucatan, Mexico in June 1925. He was the oldest of eight children. While still living in Mexico, he recalled learning about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii] on 7 December 1941 after he attended a baseball game. He came to the United States in 1942 on a student visa, his aunt and uncle sponsored him. Peniche lived in Paducah, Kentucky with his relatives. He attended high school and was assigned to a teacher named Mrs. Cooper because he had to advance his English language. He is very thankful for her tutelage. The United States law at the time required all male residents to register prior to their 18th birthday for the draft. This included men on visas. After receiving a letter from his father encouraging him to do the right thing, Peniche registered for the draft.

Eduardo Alberto Peniche Carvajal volunteered for a program called V-12 [Annotator’s Note: V-12 US Navy College Training Program, 1943 to 1946], which was for high school students who wanted to receive pilot training. However, after he passed the exams, he found out he was not qualified because he was not an American citizen. Instead, he was inducted into the Army artillery in September 1943. He was selected to be on a forward observer team and at the end April 1944 he left on the SS Manhattan and landed in Bristol, England nine days later. After listening to a presentation about airborne duty, Peniche wanted to volunteer for the 101st Airborne Division, but the sergeant stopped him because he was an inch too short. His buddied refused to volunteer if Peniche was not included. Also, Peniche wanted to fire a bazooka, and because they were light on men willing to take that position, Peniche magically grew an inch and was accepted into the division. He was sent to Wales [Annotator's Note: Wales, United Kingdom]. Peniche knew that they were going to France for an invasion but did not know the exact location. He boarded the SS Robert S. Peary on 4 June 1944 to make their way in, but the invasion was postponed. They finally set sail on 5 June in the mid-afternoon. While sailing towards France, his regiment received maps and instructions to land on Utah Beach. His ship had to correct its route and Peniche did not officially land on the beach until 9 June 1945.

Eduardo Alberto Peniche Carvajal was tremendously excited in participating in D-Day. He remarks that although Utah beach ended up with less casualties than other beaches, the paratroopers took a big blow in their men. Peniche landed on Utah Beach with no resistance because it was already secured. His Division gathered in Hiesville [Annotator’s Notes: Hiesville, France] to prepare for the attack at Carentan [Annotator’s Notes: Carentan]. Peniche was part of the Division of Artillery Security Echelon which helped with counterattack reinforcement. He also made sure that communication was not broken and keeping the enemy from infiltrating the line. On his 19th Birthday he wrote a letter to his parents telling them he is alive and well. By July 1944, the Airborne Divisions withdrew to England to prepare for their next mission. Peniche was put on garrison duty and had more military training. He was assigned to 81st Anti-tank, Antiaircraft Battalion in Basildon Park, England. He was sent to Holland [Annotator’s Notes: Netherlands] with his regiment and landed by glider. Their mission was to keep Hell’s highway during Operation Market Garden. Many high-profile military men were wounded and injured trying to secure this highway from the Germans.

Eduardo Alberto Peniche Carvajal remarked that the decisions made by some of the commanders caused Operation Market Garden to be a difficult task to overcome. The American and British troops were fighting against the 9th and 10th SS Panzer Divisions and the result was the decimation of a couple of the British divisions. The operation was supposed to last three weeks but ended up being 72 days. When he was in Opheusden [Annotator's Note: Opheusden, Netherlands] with his unit giving support to the 327th [Annotator's Note: 327th Glider Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division] and 506th [Annotator's Note: 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division]. He experienced a lot of combat in effort to secure this town. In November 1944, his unit was pulled out of Opheusden and headed to Northern France to recuperate. Peniche recalled being in foxholes every night when he was around combat. He also remembered that from the beginning to end of Operation Market Garden, there was always a possibility of a German counterattack. [Annotator’s Notes: Interviewer pauses to exchange tape at 0:56:38.000 and then they have conversation about the interview process]. During his rest between the invasion of Normandy and Operation Market Garden, he returned to Basildon Park, England to receive more military training to properly fulfill his missions, including how to work a glider that were often deadly.

Eduardo Alberto Peniche Carvajal recalled his first time jumping out of the plane was exciting and apprehensive. Peniche believes that all the men that volunteered were good and honorable soldiers and they tested the limits of their minds. Peniche wondered about a couple of guys in his unit [Annotator's Note: 81st Airborne Antiaircraft Battalion, 101st Airborne Division], if they had their minds clear. When he invaded Normandy on D-Day [Annotator's Note: Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944] plus two, he went in by glider with the 81st anti-tank, antiaircraft battalion. Before he left for Normandy, he was told where he was going to land and what his mission was going to be. He received maps and studied the terrain. As he glided into Holland [Annotator's Note: the Netherlands], he witnessed an "air armada" and below the British Army marching north. As he got closer to his landing target, he saw explosions in the sky as the Germans were firing antiaircraft weapons at them. When he landed, he was under heavy mortar fire, but he had a mission to keep the highway open.

Eduardo Alberto Peniche Carvajal has nothing against John Wayne [Annotator's Note: born Marion Robert Morrison, an American actor; also known as the "Duke"]. Peniche's glider was damaged as they landed on their target area during Operation Market Garden. He was okay and was able to pull his gun out of the glider. While he was waiting for his jeep to arrive, he received heavy mortar fire. Peniche remarked that everyone knew what their roles were for the mission. As a team, they knew they could depend on each other to complete the mission. He recalled his leadership to be tremendous and fantastic. During his combat in Opheusden [Annotator's Note: Opheusden, Netherlands] his job was to prevent the Germans from coming in, protect the roads and keep German armor from coming into the town with his bazooka, and keep the communication lines open for the Allies. While in Opheusden, Peniche saw a terrible site, a couple of pigs eating a couple of dead Germans. He believes overcoming the horrors he saw during World War 2 is a testament to his upbringing and love for God.

In December 1944, Eduardo Alberto Peniche Carvajal was on R and R [Annotator's Note: rest and recuperation, or, rest and relaxation] in Mourmelon-le-Petit, France when they called his unit [Annotator's Note: 81st Airborne Antiaircraft Battalion, 101st Airborne Division] to be ready to ship out to Bastogne [Annotator's Note: Bastogne, Belgium]. On 18 December 1944, he went to Bastogne in a cattle truck. They arrived in a village called Longchamps [Annotator's Note: Longchamps, Belgium]. His mission was to provide anti-tank support on the front lines. Peniche recalled a tremendous bloody battle on Christmas Day 1944, and on 3 January 1945 when the Germans were trying to make one last attempt to take Bastogne. His battery engaged the enemy when they reached a roadblock that they made to stop German tanks. They were successful in stopping the German advance. Peniche was wounded during the attack, but he continued to carry on and assist his fellow soldiers. Eventually, his gun was blown up and the explosion threw him back. His nose and ears began to bleed, his jaw was broken, and he had a concussion. As he went to his foxhole, he saw his squad leader lying on the ground in pain. He told Peniche to get into his foxhole, but instead, Peniche crawled to the command post and reported what had happen. They sent a medic to help his squad leader and others who were wounded.

Eduardo Alberto Peniche Carvajal rejoined his outfit [Annotator's Note: 81st Airborne Antiaircraft Battalion, 101st Airborne Division] two and half months after he was wounded in the Battle of the Bulge [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Bulge or German Ardennes Counter Offensive, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945]. He saw the Landsberg concentration camp [Annotator's Note: Kaufering Concentration Camp in Landsberg am Leche, Germany] right before the surrender of the Germans on 8 May 1945. He was discharged in December 1945. He returned home to Mexico and joined the Mexico Military Academy. He served in the Mexican Military from 1946 to 1951 and became an officer in the Mexican Army, parachute infantry. He returned to the United States with a permanent visa in 1952, and in 1953 became a citizen. He received his high school diploma and pursued further education. He eventually became a college professor. He used the G.I. Bill for his graduate degree. He believes that he is living the American Dream.